


Two Months After

by AlexMonopolyGirl



Series: Deanoru Life [4]
Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Some kissing, but c'mon, lol, mostly just roll with it, or Nico thrists for Karolina's muscles, since when are we afraid of the word fuck, some language, sorry - Freeform, the thirst is real ladies and gents, this oneshot could also be called Training, tiny tiny bit of plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 11:12:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14134890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexMonopolyGirl/pseuds/AlexMonopolyGirl
Summary: Training, talking, laughing, kissing, remembering... Their new home acts like a bubble that protects them from the outside world.





	Two Months After

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot takes place 2 months after 3. Aka, they ran away 3 months ago.

**Disclaimer:: I don’t own Marvel’s Runaways nor the characters. I’m just playing around for a bit. I’ll put them back, I swear! If I get sued, the only thing they can take from me is my phone. Just saying.**

 

*********************************************************

 

“Alright! **C’mon!** We’re doing **great!** ”

 

Chase, Karolina and Molly were hours deep into their daily training. They varied the exercises they did daily but always ran laps around the scrapyard, more often than sometimes with the company of Old Lace. Running was one of the regular exercises they did daily, in order to increase resistance and endurance, specially for the girls’ powers. Karolina had always enjoyed running so it was an exercise she was good at but keeping her focus to keep her glow off without using her bracelet was more difficult than previously thought. But she was making good progress. Molly was equally good at running but keeping her strength in check while running or jumping was hard as hell. One a good note, she was getting better and so were her endurance and resistance which meant she didn’t get as tired. The more she worked out and trained, the less exhausted she felt at the end of the day. Sure, she always slept like the dead at night but in general she didn’t pass out from exhaustion like she did before when she first begun to use her powers.

 

Chase was a surprisingly good coach (even if they still refused to call him that out loud), always keeping them motivated and cheering them on, even when they left him behind due to their superhuman abilities. _Specially then_. He did his best to teach them and train them. They wanted to grow stronger? He taught them the proper technique and fashioned (heavy) dumbbells out of pieces of scrap metal. Chase even managed to create a horizontal bar. They wanted to learn hand to hand combat? Chase wasn’t an expert but he knew a thing or two about fist fights and as much as it broke his heart to even think about his friends fighting, he _knew_ they had to at least know how to throw a punch without hurting themselves. He knew that as unfair as it was, they _needed_ to learn self-defense. They wanted to learn how to better control their powers? Well, none of them were experts at that but with God as his witness, Chase would make sure they did.

 

All their hard work was paying off because they had found out some interesting things, specially about Karolina’s powers. Karolina could regulate the energy behind her beams of light: she could create a simple blinding light (like that night against Darius) and increase the power to blast the shit out of anything that stood in her way, destroying it or causing explosions (like that day at the church) and if she concentrated the energy enough the beams became thin deathly lasers. She was also stronger than the average human (which only increased with training), making her pretty strong in her human form but super strong in her glowing form. She wasn’t as strong as Molly but they suspected not many people were as strong as Molly. Her raw strength seemed limitless and kept increasing every day.

 

Everyone agreed it never got old to see skinny sunny Molly merrily lifting or dragging hundreds of pounds of wrecked cars and tractor tires back and forth across the yard. It was one hell of a show.

 

The training trio used the bar a lot since they didn’t have a floor (only dirt) they could lay in. They did pull-ups and chin-ups and would hang upside down from the bar to pull themselves up, among other things.

 

Alex had started to join them but merely as a helper. They boy just wasn’t into physical activities. But he had no problem with counting the reps for them or help analyze the powers’ tests. It also served him as a distraction from obsessing over planning and organizing their inventory of supplies. And he actually enjoyed himself cheering on his friends.

 

Chase had gone to the bar first while Karolina and Molly finished with the dumbbells while Alex counted for them.

 

“Okay!” Chase wiped the sweat and rust from his hands on his t-shirt (it was drenched in sweat anyway) and clasped his hands twice. “K, you’re up in the bar! Mollinator, tire! Wilder, wanna count for K? I’ll spot for Molly.”

 

“ _Mollinator_?” Alex, Karolina and Molly asked at the same time.

 

Chase shrugged, not sorry for his bad nickname.

 

“Your nicknames’ game is getting sloppy, dude,” Molly chuckled and shook her arms and legs as she got ready for the next part.

 

“Sorry not so—” The boy was going to say something else but he noticed something that made him pause. Gert and Nico had taken seats on an old car and were watching the training from afar, which wasn’t uncommon at all and usually, signaled that Nico was done practicing with her Staff for the day. Chase waved at Gert, a (involuntary) smile appearing on his face.

 

Gert gave a little wave in return, but only after Nico elbowed her and his smile waned a little. He didn’t want Gert to feel like she had to return his gesture if she didn’t want to. Unfortunately three months later things between them hadn’t moved further than quick make-out sessions and maybe some more physical activities late at night in _‘Chase’s corner’_. There were moments, when Gert would cuddle him ( _Gert liked to cuddle_ , which had been a welcome surprise) for a few minutes, as if committing it to her memory, or she’d allow him to hold her. And Chase did commit those moments to his memory. But every time Chase tried to talk Gert escaped faster than Houdini.

 

“Hey.” Karolina stood next to him, looking at him with that usual compassion and sympathy of hers and Chase felt immensely grateful they had talked and their friendship was stronger than ever. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry.” It was a lie and they both knew it but the blonde didn’t call him out on it. “Look, your girl’s here to check you out,” he joked and smirked at his friend.

 

Karolina glanced over his shoulder and smiled when she saw Nico sitting next to Gert.

 

“So is yours,” Karolina shot back, returning his smirk.

 

“She’s not my girl,” Chase denied with a shake of his head.

 

“Sure she isn’t.” Karolina rolled her eyes at him playfully and nudged him with her hand. “Your shirt’s all sweaty, you should take it off,” she suggested.

 

“Why?” Chase was confused by her suggestion. Karolina was the last person who would suggest _that_.

 

“‘Cause it’ll tease Gert, dummy,” Karolina laughed.

 

“Where the hell did you get that?” Chase laughed as well.

 

“Just do it, trust me!”

 

“Do you tease Nico the same way?” Chase snorted.

 

Karolina grinned and shrugged as she walked away towards the bar. Chase shook his head laughing and did as told. Pulling off his t-shirt and hanging it from a pipe nearby he made his way to Molly. Looking back over his shoulder, Chase chuckled when he noticed Karolina had discarded her t-shirt (she wore a sports bra underneath) and her lights were on as she did chin-ups in the bar. A quick glance confirmed their resident goth was observing her with all her attention.

 

“What’s got you so distracted, dude?” Molly asked.

 

“Look at K and then at Nico,” Chase told her with a grin.

 

Molly did so and snickered.

 

“You tryin’ to do the same with Gert?” Molly snorted and swatted his arm when he blushed and tried to deny it. “C’mon, big guy. Let’s give my sister a good show.”

 

At the opposite end of their training area, Alex counted the chin-ups repetitions for Karolina.

 

“That’s 10 and 10…9…8, don’t use your flying,” the boy warned her with a grin when he noticed one of the chin-ups was a bit too easy.

 

“I’m not!” Karolina groaned as she pulled herself up, the muscles of her arms, shoulders, abs and legs straining with the effort.

 

“4, yes you were. 3…2…1 and ten more.”

 

Karolina held herself up from the bar and shot a dirty look at her friend for mocking her.

 

“I’m working on control, okay? Sometimes I slip!”

 

Alex chuckled.

 

“You’re doing great. Now 10…9…8, I’m just messing with ya.”

 

“Not. Funny!”

 

“…2 and 1, get down now,” Alex instructed her and the blonde dropped from the bar, shaking and stretching her arms and shoulders. “You’re doing great, I think you could add another set of 10 next week.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” Karolina sipped from her bottle of water and left it aside before retaking her position beneath the bar.

 

“When you’re ready, K.”

 

Karolina did use her flying ability to float and position herself so her legs were hooked on the bar and the rest of her body dangled below. She shot a thumb up at her friend to start counting.

 

*********************************************************

 

“Your eyes are gonna fall off if you stare any harder.”

 

Nico looked away from the sparring figures of Chase and Karolina to look at Gert, who handed her a bottle of water before retaking her seat.

 

“Thought we came to perv, wasn’t that the point?” Nico muttered between sips of water.

 

“You didn’t look like you were _‘admiring the sights’._ You looked worried, Nico,” Gert told her bluntly. “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just spaced out.”

 

“Okay, then.” Gert wasn’t the type to push. Okay, that was bullshit. But she wasn’t going to push Nico just then.

 

They were watching Karolina, Chase and Molly take turns sparring with each other while Alex kept the time of each round. Both Karolina and Chase had put their t-shirts back on, much to Nico’s and Gert’s disappointment. Gert had gone back inside to refill their bottles of water and Nico’s train of thoughts (completely focused on Karolina’s abs for the past two hours) had taken a turn. As it happened her mind wandered over to her sister. She had been thinking a lot of about Amy among practicing her magic, her ever-growing relationship with Karolina and living with five other teenagers and a dinosaur. They had no new leads nor news from Chase’s mom, they didn’t know anythin about what was going on with their parents and Jonah. And that uncertainty was the worst. They tried to keep busy but it didn’t always work.

 

At least not for Nico. And her mind would inevitably be assaulted by the memories of her sister, both good and bad ones. Sometimes it was the unstoppable thought of _‘Amy would know what to do’_ or _‘Amy’d know how to fix this’_ or _‘What would Amy say about this?’_ And sometimes it was the simple yet complex longing of wanting to talk to her big sister and the painful reminder that _she couldn’t._

 

So maybe Nico had been a little bit more spaced out than it was normal lately and of course Karolina had noticed, the blonde always noticed her. She had offered a ready ear but in true Nico fashion she had dodged the conversation.

 

_“You don't have to tell me anything unless you want to, Nico. I won’t push,” Karolina had told her then. “Just remember I’m here if you do.”_

 

Nico had kissed her senseless, then. The memory of that particular make-out session brought a content smile to Nico’s face. Ever since that night Karolina had seemingly forgotten all about it but _Nico knew_ Karolina was simply giving her space and not pushing her to talk. Nico felt immensely grateful for it.

 

“So supply run tomorrow… You think we forgot to add anything to the list? I think I added everything but I have a feeling we’re forgetting something. You think we’re forgetting something?” Gert’s anxious rambling brought Nico back to the present. Unfortunately supplies runs always ramped up Gert’s anxiety so Nico always tried to keep her distracted.

 

“Already told you all when we made the list,” Nico drawled with a smirk. “We’re low on tampons.”

 

Gert froze for a second and then barked out a laugh at the reminder. Nico had been the one to deadpan _‘we need more tampons’_ during the meeting and none of the girls had been able to contain their laughter at the look on the boys’ faces and their stuttered agreement. And as Gert lectured them about the immaturity of boys and society in general when it came to women’s biological facts, Nico had stood back, looked smug and hadn’t intervened (actually, she totally egged Gert on) while Molly and Karolina tried to muffle their laughter and blushed, respectively.

 

“If our periods sync up, they’re so screwed,” Gert commented through her laughter.

 

“Thank the Goddess boys don’t have periods. They’d be insufferable,” Nico snorted.

 

“Oh I have no doubt.” Gert shook her head, still laughing. “Thanks for making me laugh, I needed that,” she added.

 

“Not a problem, dude,” Nico shrugged.

 

“You think we’ll find out anything?” Gert asked, turning serious. They expected to get some more information from Janet Stein, who kept them updated on the going ons of the parents and Jonah. Unfortunately nothing was going on except that all attempts to create a poison of some sort from the serum were futile.

 

“Unless something happened then I don’t think we’ll get anything. The ‘rents are pretty fucking useless,” Nico didn’t even try to hide her discontent with the adults. “At least we’re training, they… I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to cover their asses.”

 

“You think that’s what they’re doing? That they could betray us…again?” Gert asked, resigned to the fact that Nico was probably right. They could have done something, that night at the construction site, they could have stood up to Jonah. But they didn’t. They did nothing.

 

“Dunno. Just don’t trust their intentions at all. What’d they expect to happen? They kill Jonah, we come back to them and we’re all happy families again?” Nico snorted. “Even if they do manage to kill Jonah, nothing’s ever gonna be the same. Goddess knows **I’m not** going back to them. Can’t even look at them.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think I could ever trust them the same way. They killed kids, for fuck’s sake! Don’t care what shitty reason they told themselves to sleep at night. Nothing justifies their actions. And you’re right, what are they gonna do? They kill Jonah and cover their asses and act like nothing happened? Go on with their lives? And what are we gonna do, then? Go back to them and pretend they’re not murderers?”

 

“Kar and I talked about that…” Nico admitted, knowing she could trust Gert.

 

“And?”

 

“We decided that no matter what happens, we’re not going back to them. Whether they manage to kill Jonah or we manage to defeat him or dunno, we get the Avengers’ help, whatever happens, we’re not going back. We’ll run away on our own, if necessary,” Nico replied.

 

“On your own? You’d leave us behind?” Gert asked in disbelief.

 

“No. But you all have the right to choose what’s best for you regardless of what Karolina and I decide to do. If you guys decided to go back, we wouldn’t fault you for it.”

 

“But you’d run away on your own.”

 

“What other choice would we have? Go back to that haunted house? Put Karolina back under Leslie’s thumb?”

 

“I can respect that,” Gert nodded in understanding. “Anyways, it’s all up in the air, isn’t it? We don’t know what’s gonna happen. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”

 

“No, it doesn’t.”

 

“Chase’s insisting I join their training,” Gert admitted a while later.

 

“Why?”

 

“He said us non-powered ones should be capable of defending ourselves too. Said I should at least learn to throw a punch without hurting myself. He’s worried I’ll get hurt.” Gert didn’t meet her friend’s eyes when she said it, slightly embarrassed.

 

“Funny. Karolina’s been telling me pretty much the same thing,” Nico admitted.

 

“What did you tell her?” Gert asked, a tiny grin pulling at her lips.

 

“I have my ways of distracting her,” Nico smirked mischievously.

 

Gert laughed in disbelief.

 

“You serious?”

 

“Oh I am.” Nico rolled her eyes at herself. “Later she brought it up again and I told her I’d think about it.”

 

Gert laughed.

 

“What did **you** tell Chase, then?”

 

“To shut up and get back to work.” Nico shot her a suggestive look and Gert felt the heat rising in her cheeks. “He was workin on his Fistigons at the time!”

 

“Right,” Nico drawled mockingly. “Don’t care to know what you do with your boyfriend, dude.”

 

“He’s **not** my boyfriend!” Gert hissed and punched her friend’s leg. Nico winced and couldn’t help but think that Gert didn’t need the punching lessons.

 

“Outch and okay, whatever. Keep lying to yourself, I don’t care, really!” Nico snorted, amused by her friend’s denial.

 

“You shouldn’t say shit like that. Besides, it’s rich coming from you, considering you and Karo,” Gert rolled her eyes at the goth.

 

“It’s so different, dude,” Nico shrugged.

 

“Different how?”

 

“Karolina and I **are together**. Sure, we made the decision to not label it for now. But everybody knows we are. We’re not denying it,” Nico pointed out. “Not saying you gotta do the same thing, okay? You do you, Gert. But **maybe** stop lying to yourself…just saying.”

 

Gert opened her mouth to say something but then closed it.

 

“Obviously you both got your issues to work on. But you are into him and he is into you, dude. Despite whatever issue…it doesn’t **have** to be **this fucking complicated**. Takes **two** to tango.” Nico shrugged. “My point is…we don’t know if we’re gonna even make it out of this shit alive, Gert. So **why not** enjoy it while it lasts than regret it later ‘cause it never happened in the first place. Ya know?”

 

“I hear you,” Gert said after a beat of silence.

 

“Goddess, I’d kill for a cool glass of wine right now,” Nico muttered to herself.

 

“Or a whisky on the rocks,” Gert nodded in agreement.

 

“And popcorn to watch the show,” Nico added as an after-thought because they were setting up to work on powers. “Chase fixed his Fistigons?” She asked when they saw him putting them on.

 

“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything,” Gert replied, feeling a spike of fear go right through her.

 

“Alright! Targets ready!” Karolina called out as she jogged back to her friends.

 

Different _‘targets’_ had been placed in different places and levels around the training area.

 

“Dude, are you sure?” Molly asked him, slightly worried for her friend.

 

“Gotta test them, Molls.”

 

Alex, Karolina and Molly shared a look of unease… the Fistigons had already malfunctioned before. This time at least they fired but Chase went flying only to land on his ass five feet away, much like that first time against Darius.

 

“Okay, that went **well** ,” Chase groaned as he sat up with a pained wince. He was sure nothing was broken so that was a win, in his opinion.

 

“Dude, you alright?!” Molly reached him first and helped him stand up.

 

“I’m fine, Molly.” The others including Nico and Gert crowded around him, all talking at the same time and Chase winced again. “Guys! Guys! I’m okay! I swear! Gonna have a bruise the size of Mars on my ass for a few days but I’m fine.”

 

Nico opened her mouth, no doubt to say something that would make her friends blush, but Karolina elbowed her gently in warning so she shut up and sent an eye-roll in the blonde’s direction.

 

“Guess they need more work.” Chase was disappointed and let out a slightly frustrated sigh as he stared at his broken Fistigons.

 

“Let me try?” Nico pulled out her Staff and winced as usual when her thumb was prickled. The Staff hummed, ready to work, and Nico grinned as she felt the magic flowing from her body to the Staff.

 

“You think you can fix them?” Chase asked her, staring at her with hope-filled eyes.

 

“I can **try** ,” was all Nico said.

 

Not caring about his inventor’s ego in that moment Chase simply held out his hands, still encased inside the gloves.

 

Alex, Molly, Gert and Karolina took a step back as Nico grabbed the handle of the Staff with both hands and pointed the top circle towards the Fistigons.

 

“ **Fix the Fistigons!** ” Nico commanded firmly.

 

The Staff lit up and so did the gloves for a whole minute. Chase’s eyes widened but forced himself to stand still.

 

The light eventually faded and the Staff retracted to its shrunken state, as if it was fully aware that its job was done. For a moment no one moved nor said a word.

 

“Did it work?” Gert broke the silence.

 

“I don’t know, it should have but…” Nico shrugged, unsure.

 

“Only one way to know,” Chase said and steeled himself to try again.

 

Before any of his friends could protest Chase headed back to the line of fire, planted his feet on the ground and got ready, taking a deep breath as the Fistigons lit up again…

 

Everyone cheered as the Fistigons worked! Chase tested them again and again until he was sure they were in perfect condition and then joined the cheering. He felt like giving Nico a hug but he wouldn’t risk getting punched so he pulled one of his hands free and raised it for a high five.

 

“Thanks, Nico,” he told her gratefully.

 

“Not a problem, dude.” Nico shrugged but returned his high five, glad that she could help him. Chase was a good fighter and his Fistigons were an advantage they needed.

 

“Alright. Now that the Fistigons are fixed, K, you’re up!” Chase told her as he put his gloves away. “You ready, Molls?”

 

“Sure am!” Molly grinned, tossing a radiator on top of the pile of car parts she had formed besides her.

 

It was quite the show indeed to watch Molly throw the _‘targets’_ in different directions while Karolina shot short blasts of energy from her hands as she hovered four feet off the ground.

 

“We really should get popcorn for next time,” Gert whispered to Nico, who nodded in agreement.

 

*********************************************************

 

“You know what I wish?”

 

“That we were hanging out by a nice pool with margaritas and free of this whole bullshit?”

 

“No although that does sound nice. I never had a margarita before.”

 

“Heathen!”

 

Karolina barked out a laugh at the mock-outrage in Nico’s voice.

 

“Well, I’m sorry for never having a margarita before,” the blonde giggled.

 

“And yet you can chug down crappy vodka like the best upper-class white soccer moms out there,” came Gert’s dry comment.

 

“Yeah well that’s the culture of my people, isn’t it? No one drinks like white right people,” Karolina snorted.

 

The other three girls laughed, surprised by the sarcastic comment.

 

“Oooh burn!” Molly giggled.

 

“I was **not** expecting that,” Gert admitted, still laughing.

 

“Me neither,” was Nico’s response. “Anyway, what’d you wish?”

 

“ **To fly**. Find someplace where I can fly high into the sky and not just hover over the ground or encased here in the warehouse. I want to **really** fly,” Karolina confessed to her friends with a tired and resigned sigh.

 

“We’ll you a place, someday,” Nico promised.

 

“That’s the downside of my powers, they’re just too visible. I can’t fly if I’m not glowing and my glowing is visible from afar,” Karolina shrugged, resigned. “I like my powers, I do, I just would like to be able to fly.”

 

“Totally understandable. And dude, your powers are awesome. So sparkly!” Molly grinned.

 

“And if we need a flashlight, you’re it,” Gert deadpanned.

 

Both Molly and Nico snickered at Gert’s joke while Karolina laughed.

 

“Where’s Old Lace, by the way?” She asked because the deinonychus wasn’t in the room with them.

 

“Hunting,” Gert replied, unfazed while Molly pulled a grossed-out expression.

 

Nodding in understanding, Karolina grabbed her hoodie and boots put them over her sleeping attire (a tank top and sweatpants), much to the girls’ confusion.

 

“I’m going to go for a walk,” she told them when they asked. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll close after Lace,” she added before leaving the room.

 

“She okay?” Molly asked in Nico’s direction.

 

“Don’t know. But I’m gonna find out.”

 

Nico put on her shoes and went after Karolina. It was still early in the night, it wasn’t even 11 pm yet, but they had retreated back to their rooms and so had the boys. The goth could see the beam of light shining beneath the boys’ door. The warehouse was dark as usual, only illuminated by the faint light from the office and the light from the skylight.

 

One of the front doors was opened and Nico headed outside. The scrapyard looked like it came out of a slasher movie at night, with the moon providing the only light and dark shadows everywhere. The good thing about being away from the city was that the moonlight was incredible and allowed her to see pretty well despite the darkness. The rows and rows of piled up vehicles and junk made for great tall walls but it was also a tiny bit creepy. Nico loved it.

 

Nico had never been afraid of the dark. Never had been, not even as a child. She wasn’t afraid of the dark shadows in her new home or what monsters could lurk in the dark corners. After all, why be afraid of the monsters in the dark when the real monsters were out in broad daylight?

 

Movement to her left warned her of the presence of a certain deinonychus, who stared at her questioningly with those yellow intelligent eyes.

 

“Hey, Lacey. Nice hunting?” Nico drawled and extended a hand towards the dinosaur.

 

Old Lace approached her and purred as Nico stroke her muzzle and neck.

 

“Good girl. Have you seen Karolina?” She asked and the deinonychus huffed and jerked her enormous head to the right, pointing up with her nose. Nico couldn’t see the top of the row but she noticed the lights that could only come from her favorite blonde. “Thanks, L.”

 

Accepting a kiss and a final pet on the head Old Lace went back to her hunting, although she kept her ears open for the two members of her pack who were out.

 

“Karolina?” Nico called out.

 

The blonde’s glowin face appeared over the edge and a second later Karolina floated down to the ground, instantly turning her lights off.

 

“What are you doing out here? It’s chilly tonight.”

 

“Yeah, I know now.” Nico was suddenly aware of the chill in the air and the fact she only had a t-shirt and sweatpants on. “I came to find you, duh.”

 

“Why? Here.” Karolina took off her hoodie and draped it over the smaller girl’s shoulders.

 

“You’ll get cold,” Nico protested but the blonde gave her a little smile, tugging the hoodie so it covered her better.

 

“I don’t feel the cold much, don’t worry.”

 

“Fine.” Nico relented with a sigh and put her arms into the sleeves, rolling them over her wrists because the hoodie was at least two or three sizes too big on her.

 

Karolina would never point it out loud but Nico looked gorgeous and adorable wearing her hoodie. The goth was drowned by the hoodie that was actually a size too big on Karolina and she looked tiny and cute. She knew better than to say it out loud, though.

 

“Why did you come, Nico?” Karolina asked her, still admiring how adorable the smaller girl looked in her hoodie, a little smile playing upon her lips.

 

“I wanted to see if you were okay, kinda left in a hurry,” Nico replied.

 

“I’m okay.”

 

Nico gave her a raised eyebrow.

 

“Just…having _‘one of those days’_ ya know?” Karolina turned slightly sheepish when admittin that.

 

 _‘One of those days’_ had become a code between them. A code for _‘I love my powers and what I can do but I’m still struggling with the fact that I’m half-alien and what that means to me’_ , a code for _‘I’m still getting used to this new skin I inhabit’_. It was also a code for _‘I don’t wanna bother anyone with my existential issues’_ , no matter how many times Nico reassured her that she could never be a bother.

 

“You want company or prefer to be alone this time?” Nico asked because she respected the fact that sometimes Karolina needed her space.

 

“Your company is always welcomed. But let’s go inside, don’t want you catching a cold,” the blonde told her and grabbed her hand.

 

They went back inside, Old Lace following them and heading right towards their room as Karolina closed and locked the front door, plunging the warehouse into almost full darkness.

 

Focusing her power into her hand, her skin lit up from her wrist to her fingertips, illuminating the way. Karolina led the way to their spot, using her hand as a flashlight and Nico really had to contain her urge to stare.

 

“We should have brought the lamp,” Karolina lamented once they stepped into their little corner.

 

“Or…ya know…”Nico hesitated. She wanted to ask but she didn’t want the blonde to feel uncomfortable or like she **had** to do anything.

 

“Or what?” A little confused crease formed between her eyebrows.

 

“You know…” Nico slowly reached out and grabbed the glowing hand between hers, forcing herself to not gape at the warm tingling sensation of the lights and the millions of tiny sparkles dancing across the blonde’s skin.

 

“Oh,” Karolina breathed out as realization hit her.

 

“But I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

 

“I… You really wanna see me glowing?”

 

“Full disclosure? Yeah, kinda do. Only ‘cause I don’t usually get to see you glowing unless I watch you train or some shit’s going on. You never let yourself light up when we’re alone,” Nico admitted. “But I don’t want you to do it just to please me, I know it’s kinda selfish. Specially if it’s one of those days.”

 

“Letting my lights out is not my issue, Nico. It actually feels good to let them out. And dunno, maybe it is slightly selfish…but I get it and don’t mind it from you.” The corner of Karolina’s mouth twitched upwards. “You wanted to make me glow from the beginning, so…”

 

They both couldn’t help recall that day as they got ready for the Gala. Nico smiled and rolled her eyes playfully, conceding the point.

 

Karolina let go and smiled as her lights extended all over her body. Purples and reds and pinks and blues and oranges swirling all over, sparkling like millions of tiny stars dancing over her skin and hair. Nico could only watch in awe, she hadn’t gotten to see Karolina’s glowing form up close like this, not like this, not while they were all alone. (And no, she didn’t secretly feel a pang of jealousy over the fact that Chase _of all people_ got to see it first. Nico would take that to her grave)

 

“You’re extraordinary,” the goth breathed out.

 

“Look who’s talking,” the blonde smiled.

 

“Yeah, I’m magical alright,” Nico deadpanned and the taller girl let out a giggle. Her hands reached out towards the blonde’s arms but she hesitated. “Can I?”

 

Karolina nodded and stood still, letting the other girl explore. Nico placed her hands on Karolina’s biceps and ever so gently ran her fingertips downwards to the blonde’s wrists, delighting herself with the tiny sparkles that rose from the lines she traced. Karolina felt the beginning of a blush spreading across her cheeks and she hoped her lights would mask it (they didn’t, not really. The light over her cheeks turned a tad redder, giving her away); Nico enjoyed making her blush a little too much. Karolina tried to ignore how Nico’s innocent exploration made her skin tingle because she knew it had nothin to do with her lights and everything with the girl doing the touching. Nico’s exploration was innocent: she gently touched her arms, her cheeks and even her hair, delighted like a kid discovering something wonderful. But if Karolina was honest, she wasn’t feeling that innocent in that moment. **Nico was touching her.**

 

“Nico…” Her voice came out huskier than usual, clearly affected, which got her a raised eyebrow from the goth. “I want to kiss you.” Karolina bit her lip as she took in the sudden mischief that appeared in Nico’s eyes. She knew that look. That look spelled troubles of the best kind and she could feel the eagerness rising in her.

 

“I thought you wanted to talk, you know…” Nico’s tone was somewhere between serious and teasing as she took a step closer.

 

“ **That** was before you started touching me,” Karolina admitted with a shrug, only mildly embarrassed. “You know I can’t resist you, **specially** when you’re touching me.”

 

“And **you** know what it does to me when you go all bold on me,” Nico drawled teasingly, her dark eyes shouldering as the taller girl’s hands cupped her head and closed the gap between their lips.

 

Nico eagerly matched the passionate pace, pulling at the taller body closer until they were pressed together, the heat and light coming off Karolina’s body wrapping around them like a warm cocoon. Nico would be lying if she said she never wondered what it would be like to kiss Karolina when she was glowing and so far it exceeded all expectations. But then again, Karolina _always_ exceeded all her expectations. Karolina was like a force of nature in Nico’s mind: she could be sweet and shy and beautifully all-encompassing but when she let lose her passion, she could be devastating, leaving Nico a mess, specially after their most intense and passionate make-out sessions.

 

“Couch!” Nico rushed out between kisses and tugged the taller girl along.

 

Karolina already knew what was coming so she left herself be dragged and pushed until she fell on the couch, chest heaving but smiling. She rearranged herself so she was comfortably seating up right before Nico straddled her thighs and resumed their kissing.

 

If either of them noticed Karolina’s lights getting brighter and warmer the more passionate their kissing got, neither girl brought it up and it certainly didn’t stop them.

 

*********************************************************

 

They ended up lying down in their usual position on their couch: Karolina was stretched out on her back, feet dangling off the end of the seat and Nico laid half on top of her and half off, head resting on own bent right arm while her left hand lazily traced the lines of Karolina’s developing six-pack under her tank top. Karolina had always been active and in shape but after three months of intense, hardcore daily work-outs she was developing hard muscles all over. Her legs, arms, abs and shoulders were becoming a contradiction of hard-muscles under baby soft skin. Her hands were over gentle and loving in contrast to the callouses forming in her palms, fingers and knuckles due to the training. Not that Nico complained at all. She had never particularly cared about such things but apparently she **was** into them because damn it, she loved them in Karolina.

 

Nico hadn’t shared that with the blonde though she suspected Karolina knew. Karolina always looked a bit too smug to not know. Also both Gert and Molly weren’t shy to let her know that her reactions to Karolina working-out were less than subtle. Nico couldn’t find it in herself to care.

 

“Are you tired?” Karolina asked her softly.

 

“Nah. You? You guys worked-out hard for most of the day today,” Nico commented.

 

“Not at all. When I meditate under the sun all the soreness just goes away,” Karolina explained with a little lazy smile. Her lights were dimmed but not out of exhaustion like last time. This time she was keeping them low on purpose as to not affect Nico’s sight with the brightness.

 

“Lucky,” Nico chuckled and moved her head closer to the blonde’s. “Are you really okay, Karolina?”

 

“After that make-out I’m feeling amazing,” Karolina replied with a cheeky twinkle in her eyes.

 

“I meant about yourself. You said it’s **‘one of those days’** , Kar,” Nico told her.

 

“I’m fine, I promise. Can we maybe not… talk about this right now?” Karolina asked. “I just want to enjoy this moment here with you.”

 

“Okay, **I get it** , Kar. If you don’t wanna talk, then you don’t have to talk about anything.”

 

Nico snuggled closer and muttered something that Karolina didn’t understand because it was (she didn’t know the language but she remembered it) in Japanese. Karolina smiled because she hadn’t heard Nico speaking Japanese in years.

 

“What did you just say?” The blonde asked, curious.

 

“Maybe one day I’ll tell ya,” Nico teased.

 

“Rude! Pretty please?” Karolina batted her eyelashes playfully and the goth chuckled.

 

“I said that you make a great pillow, okay?” Nico admitted, kind of avoiding the blonde’s eyes.

 

“Oh…Thanks. Anytime.” Karolina blushed slightly. “You know… It’s been a long time since I heard you speaking Japanese. I like it when you do, even if I don’t get it.” A smile appeared on her lips. “You used to do it all the time when we were kids, remember? You’d start muttering to yourself in Japanese when you got annoyed or even yelled at the boys and it always confused the hell out of all of us.” Karolina giggled. “And you and Am—” The blonde cut herself off, horrified at her own near slip.

 

“And Amy and I used to speak to each other in Japanese all the time because we knew you guys wouldn’t get shit,” Nico completed the phrase and smiled a little, sadness flashing in her eyes for a moment. She pushed it away: she didn’t want to linger on those feelings, right then. For once she wanted to enjoy the good memory.

 

“Shit, I’m sorry, Nico. I didn’t wan—” Nico cut her off with a gentle peck on the lips.

 

“Don’t be sorry, Kar. It’s okay, I promise.” Nico’s eyes were open and vulnerable as she looked into Karolina’s. “You deserve to remember her, Karolina. Amy was your friend. You don’t have to apologize.”

 

“But she was your sister, Nico. And the last thing I want is to cause you pain,” Karolina told her and she meant it. She had spent two years remembering Amy by herself so it wasn’t a problem for her to keep her memories to herself.

 

“I don’t think there’ll come a day when it doesn’t hurt. But…I don’t mind sharing her memory with you, Karolina.” Nico wasn’t aware of how much she meant it until she said it and that surprised her. But she really meant it. Karolina and Amy had been close before and Nico _wanted to share_ her sister’s memory with her. And she told the blonde exactly that.

 

“Anytime you want to, Nico. I’m always here for you.”

 

Karolina slowly reached out and tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind the goth’s ear, caressing her tenderly. Nico just kissed her, pouring her heart into the kiss as if it was the last. Karolina responded to the kiss with equal fervor, gathering the shorter girl in her arms, shielding them from the world.

 

*********************************************************

 

The supplies run went smoothly. Although they did get a nice surprised when they saw the new in the electronics section ( _oh how they all missed TV_ ). Nico saw it first and called them over. None of them could contain their surprise when the news guy announced the gangster Darius had been arrested and imprisoned for his criminal activities, thanks to an anonymous source.

 

“Why do I have the feeling my parents are somehow involved in this shit?” Alex took off his glasses and rubbed his face in frustration as he spoke.

 

“They could be but there’s no way to know for sure,” Nico told him.

 

“Yeah, sucks but we can’t know,” Chase nodded, resigned.

 

“I know, it’s just a feeling, guys.”

 

“A valid one, considering our parents,” Karolina chimed in.

 

“And given the history between this Darius guy and your parents… You’re probably right,” Gert added ruefully.

 

Alex shook his head and glanced at the two half-full carts they had.

 

“Let’s forget about it for now. We still have things to buy,” he told them, always focused on their mission. “Chase, c’mon.”

 

Alex pushed the cart and walked away. They watched him go, worried for him.

 

“I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry,” Chase told the girls and jogged off to catch up with the other boy.

 

“Let’s finish shopping,” Nico muttered and shared a look with her friends.

 

The plan for the meeting was simple: Chase and Alex were going to meet Janet Stein in a public space (near the famous Chinese theater) because it just wasn’t safe for them to go back to Brentwood. At the boys’ insistence the girls would stay away, keeping the van ready a few blocks over. That way, if anything went wrong, they could get away fast and without being noticed. Chase and Alex didn’t agree on many things but they did agree on one thing: the girls were too important. Chase and Alex were expendable, if they got caught. But the Nico, Karolina, Molly and Gert were too powerful and important, they couldn’t get caught.

 

The Goddess Tyche seemed to be on their side, though, because the meeting went without a hitch and soon the runaways were back in their new home, safe and protected by Nico’s spells, sitting around the fire-pit and having a (instant) coffee.

 

“Mom gave us some extra cash and told us that tomorrow they’re carrying out a plan,” Chase explained as soon as he sat down.

 

“Apparently they were able to create a sort of poison from that serum. And they plan on trying it tomorrow on Jonah. We set up another meeting in the three days then we’ll know,” Alex added.

 

“This whole shit could be over tomorrow?” A baffled Nico asked.

 

“No way!” Gert breathed out, equally baffled.

 

“Holy crap,” was all Molly said.

 

“Let’s hope our useless parents can do one thing right,” Karolina muttered to herself, although it wasn’t low enough and her friends heard it clearly.

 

“Agreed,” Gert said automatically.

 

“Same,” so did Nico.

 

“Guys… If their plan works…. Then what?” Molly asked, hesitant.

 

“What do you mean?” Chase asked.

 

“If their plan works. What then? I mean, nothing’s ever gonna be normal again, right? Dunno about you guys but I don’t think I could ever go back and trust them again. So… What happens then, if their plan works? What are **we** gonna do?”

 

No one really knew what to say to that. Nico and Karolina shared a subtle look but kept quiet. Because really, what _could they_ say? They didn’t have an universal answer, none of them did. And it didn’t feel very fair to disclose their private conversation, even if Gert knew.

 

“I think,” Alex finally said after what seemed a long time of silence. “That’s a bridge we’ll have to cross when and **if** we get there. I don’t think that’s a decision we can make right now.”

 

“We should just wait and see,” Nico added in agreement.

 

“It’s all too much uncertain…” Karolina said, quietly.

 

“Alright, then! What are we eating for dinner tonight? I’m **starving**!” Molly exclaimed, officially changing the subject of the conversation.

 

“We got a treat for everyone for tonight,” Chase grinned, excited.

 

“What is it?” Molly asked.

 

“Mac ‘n cheese!”

 

“Oh hell yeah!” Molly raised her hand and high-fived Chase excitedly.

 

“It’s the boxed stuff, don’t get too excited,” Gert warned her.

 

“Still mac ‘n cheese!” Molly said, ever the optimistic.

 

“Exactly!” Chase piped in right after.

 

“It’s been a while since we had something that good,” Alex nodded to himself, letting out a smile.

 

“Or that didn’t come out of a can,” Nico added dryly.

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for mac ‘n cheese in my life,” Karolina chuckled. Not that she had that particular treat many times: Leslie only allowed the finest meals in the house after all. But growing up sometimes Frank prepared it when Leslie wasn’t in the house and Alex’s dad made the best mac ‘n cheese in the world.

 

“Yeah, me neither,” Nico snorted in agreement.

 

“So who’s on cooking duty tonight?” Chase asked. He was pretty much the only one who couldn’t cook to save his life in the group, the others all could to different degrees so they took turns. Chase was relegated to perpetual dish washing and he was perfectly fine with that.

 

“Doesn’t matter, I’m on it,” Gert said with a shrug and stood up.

 

“I’ll help you.” Alex stood up and followed her to the van.

 

Since Molly and Chase were distracted talking about one thing or another Nico leaned back on her seat and observed the blonde sitting next to her. Karolina seemed fine to everyone else, relaxed even. But Nico could see past her bullshit-everything-is-fine-smile; she could see the tension in her eyes and the way she flexed her hands. It didn’t take a fucking genius to know what could be in her mind. They had talked many times about their situation; they both knew where they stood on the subject of their parents. Nico couldn’t fault Karolina for it.

 

Reaching out, Nico placed her hand over Karolina’s, and begun to caress her knuckles with her thumb. Karolina slowly looked at her and eventually the tension vanished from her eyes. Her hand relaxed as well and Nico entwined their fingers together, letting her know silently that she wasn’t alone.

 

“You okay?” Nico asked, keeping her voice low so only the other girl could hear her.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Okay.” Nico knew that they would talk about it later when they were alone, if Karolina wanted to talk.

 

Karolina gave her a little smile and leaned down to rest her forehead against Nico’s. The goth brushed their lips together in a sweet kiss as they both forgot they weren’t alone. This happened a lot, them forgetting about the rest of the world.

 

Molly and Chase wolf-whistled jokingly, breaking the spell around the girls. But they didn’t break the kiss and instead flipped the bird to their friends simultaneously. This only made Molly and Chase start laughing and giggling like the children they were.

 

Nico broke the kiss only to glare at their friends and if looks could kill the laughing children would be toast. For one glorious second, Nico totally pictured hexing them into mice so Old Lace could eat them. Well, Chase at least, Nico liked Molly way better.

 

Karolina did find it funny but she tried not to laugh so she lowered her head to hide it.

 

“Real mature, guys,” the goth drawled dryly.

 

“We’re just joking, Nico,” Molly giggled.

 

“Yeah, dude, just joking. Please, don’t hex us,” Chase was laughing but internally _he was_ kinda scared of what Nico could do. She was hella scary when she wanted to.

 

Nico rolled her eyes at them and then looked back at her favorite blonde.

 

“I can see you trying not to giggle,” she told her with faux-annoyance. “Unbelievable, how did I end up with a girl who **giggles** …”

 

“Really? **That’s** you big complain about me?” Karolina asked, amused.

 

“Pretty much,” Nico shrugged.

 

“Well, I’m taking that as a compliment,” Karolina grinned, smug while the other two laughed.

 

Nico sneered and rolled her eyes at them again as she muttered _ **‘** children’_.

 

It was a good night. They are their treat; they talked and laughed, forgetting about the outside world for a night. They didn’t worry about the plan (which they’d find out later failed) or about their parents (they were fine since Jonah hadn’t even noticed their attempts) or what they’d do in the future.

 

But their relaxation didn’t mean they didn’t double their efforts come morning. They trained harder and longer. They pushed further and even Nico, Gert and Alex joined the training. They understood that no matter what happened with their parents… They had to be ready.

 

**They would be ready.**

 

*********************************************************

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT READ::: So here is part 4! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Parts 5 and 6 are already written and I'm starting 7! So either this weekend or next week I'll type and post 5! ARGH! I can't WAIT for you guys to see what's coming!! I'm SOO EXCITED and pumped for you to read it!!!! 
> 
> I'm gonna leave you a tiny tiny spoiler.... The title of part 5 is "Shit...meet fan." You're welcome to guess what happens. LOL 
> 
> ALSO! Hey, guys, if anyone wants to follow me on twitter (@AlexMcLeod1992). Sometimes I post stuff related to the one-shots, mostly comments (and there's also a lot of gay shit, lol) and for future one-shots I may post a few related pics.... still not sure. But if you want, feel free to hit me up in twitter. 
> 
> Once again, I hope you enjoyed this one-shot. If you liked it, please, leave a kudos and a comment. Thanks you all for all the love you give me! :)


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